Top Attractions for Toddlers

[jsmla]

Our DS and DDIL might come down for the weekend to attend HHN at Universal during our trip and will bring our (by then 21 months old) granddaughter to Florida with them. DH and I will have the baby one day from early afternoon until bedtime. What are your favorite attractions for a 21 month old? I know it can change but so far she’s a very laid back baby and not easily startled or frightened. (DS plays a tad rough for Nana’s nerves but Dilly loves it.) She’s also very used to seeing costumed characters, Mommy and Daddy are LARPers.

We will probably spend one day at the MK as a family but DH and I will be babysitting on the second day. We have APs (no water parks) and will be staying at Ft Wilderness. I was thinking maybe a non-park character breakfast might be fun before DS and DDIL head to Universal.

Thanks!

 

[CaLuCa]

If you are staying at FW, I'd ride the boat over to Mk and do Small World, Dumbo, Carousel, Pooh, tea cups, PP. Basically a Fantasy Land tour. But if you don't want to repeat with her since you are doing MK as a family. You could go to HS and do the new Disney Junior show (just be prepared to sit on the floor), see the Frozen show, and maybe the Mickey Runaway Railway if it's open by then. And of course TSL.

Of course, she might like to just play in the splash pad at the pool at FW.

I'd do 1900 Park Faire at GF for breakfast, but that's because I'm not a fan of CM.

 

[jsmla]

Thanks! We’ll probably do a different park on babysitting day. I was thinking about the Tangled breakfast, it’s their favorite Disney movie.

 

[yulilin3]

It really depends on the patience tolerance of the child. My DS when he was that age would wait through anything without fussing, my DD at that age would squirm and wiggle after 5 minutes, so longer rides might not be a good idea
Shows are good because they are easy to get out of.
Fort Wilderness has the horse barn and pony rides, they also have a small playground on the beach, plenty of space to run around. Also the Chip and Dale campfire

 

[disneydreamer1980]

For her age she’d probably like Crystal Palace for breakfast. Littles usually love the Pooh characters. And if you stay in MK you can’t go wrong, not much she can’t experience. AK would be good if she’s into seeing animals but not a whole lotta rides for her there.

 

[amberpi]

2 trips this fall with a 2.5yo and a 4yo yielded these faves - HM, PP, SSE. They love the HM (they think it's the ghost party) so much when we went back the second time for MNSSHP, we did a HM theme (thanks Etsy) and the kids can sing the song in 2 languages. We had shown them the video and song, and they latched so there is no telling what kids might like. I don't know what's up with SSE, but at least in the lateish afternoons when we're there it tends to be easy to get additional FP for.

ETA: these posts about families really make it clear how different things work for different people and how much the interests of people in the parks differ. It's cool that WDW can make (most) happy.

 

[tinkerjo]

Epcot is not typically my park of choice but the seas is great for the little guys. You have finding Nemo, turtle talk with Crush, a small play area, and the entire aquarium. You could also FP some character interactions. I also 2nd the chip and Dale singalong at Ft Wilderness!!!! There is a movie afterwards too but after a day in the park it’s probably too late
And breakfast at Ohana is our favorite!!!

 

[orangecuse]

I would try anything she can get on height wise at MK.

Our son’s first trip at 1 year he shocked us by being obsessed with Haunted Mansion. He thought the ghosts were hilarious and clapped and cheered the whole ride and its a pretty easy day of FP to get. He will be almost 20 months on our upcominh trip and I hope he is just as tickled with it. It was so funny!

 

[Ladyandthepuppies]

My son was 15 mos on his first trip and his favorites were Small World and the carousel. He also loved Peter Pan, the Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, Under the Sea, and Dumbo. At Epcot he liked the Three Caballeros, Frozen Ever After, Journey into Imagination, and the Seas pavilion. He liked HS well enough but didn’t seem to have any favorites. Tbh, I would caution against taking a toddler on Toy Story Mania. I thought it was too jerky for a little one and I got worried about whiplash. Oh and my son’s very favorite character interactions were with the princesses! He absolutely loved Akershus, even more than Chef Mickey’s.

The best part of our trip with him was how much he truly enjoyed Disney World. We were prepared to “deal with” having a toddler there but he honestly had a great time.

 

[jsmla]

Thanks so much for the replies, it’s been over 25 years since we had a little one at Disney and the first hand reports really help!

Thanks again!

 

[ManmanMoana]

Last week our 13 month old favourites were Frozen and Nemo (but mostly the living seas afterward) at Epcot. Disney junior dance party at HS and the train, carousel and run through fountains at Disney Springs.